Brewers considering a run at Hamilton?

Josh Hamilton is about to hit the open market. For most of this past season, he crushed the hell out of the ball for the Texas Rangers. He’s a former No. 1-overall draft pick and he’s shown it many times.

However, there also is the down side. The huge, huge downside. Hamilton has had very serious issues with drugs and alcohol and had a relapse or too. So, what will the market be like for an elite slugger who could possibly go off the wagon at any point and ended up suspended or in jail?

It sounds like the Milwaukee Brewers would like to find out, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Sources tell Heyman that the Brewers are seriously considering making a run at the soon-to-be free agent.

The Brewers think that Milwaukee would be a good market for Hamilton, but hopefully not for the reasons that I’m thinking right now. The idea that he can’t play in a big city because there would be too much temptation is nonsense. Go to the smallest town in the country…you’ll find a bar. If you want to find bars, drugs, etc…you can find them. You don’t need to be in Manhattan to do so.

The bigger reason he could be a nice fit with the Brewers is because their hitting coach is Johnny Narron. He’s very close to Hamilton from their days in Cincinnati and Texas, and he’s also Hamilton’s original “life coach.” So, he’d be holding Hamilton’s wallet while he went up to bat?

I’ll be very interested to see what Hamilton’s market value ends up being. My hunch is that someone will pay him well. It only takes one.